About Pathways to Prosperity

Jobs for the Future’s (JFF) Pathways to Prosperity (PtoP) initiative is leading a national movement to reimagine how we prepare youth for the future of work.

Together with its Network members and Coalition partners, Pathways to Prosperity develops, implements, and scales college and career pathways to expand economic opportunity for all young people and meet regional talent needs. This forward-looking approach depends on strong cross-sector partnerships. PtoP mobilizes K–12 and postsecondary education leaders, policymakers, and employers, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to build a future that works.

Launched in 2012, PtoP is a collaboration of JFF, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and innovative organizations with leaders, practitioners, and policymakers advancing pathways strategies and systems in their states and regions, including Network members.

Pathways Help Youth Prepare for Success in Their Future Careers

Today, young people need both cross-cutting skills and specialized knowledge to thrive in our rapidly changing economy. Business and industry leaders require fresh talent to innovate and grow. Pathways is a strategy to connect education with careers to meet the needs of youth, educators, and employers and build a more thriving and equitable economy.

Pathways to Prosperity Framework

JFF’s Pathways to Prosperity Framework helps communities design college and career pathways that help young people seamlessly advance from high school, to postsecondary education, and into family-supporting careers. The framework outlines five key levers that are critical to realizing this vision.

The Pathways to Prosperity Network spans the entire United States and includes both regions and entire states. Network members come together around a shared vision for an education system that better prepares young people for their future careers.

Network members include local government officials, leaders in K-12 and higher education, employers, workforce development boards, and community leaders at the state, regional, and city levels. This work requires many organizations to come together to reimagine how our systems work to serve people.

As a member of the Pathways to Prosperity Network, your state or region will work with the JFF team to develop pathways strategies and models that are tailored to your goals, education and workforce systems, and labor market needs.

You will receive professional services and support tailored to your state or regional needs, including the services listed below.

Pathways to Prosperity Coalition Partners

Coalition partners collaborate with JFF on specific projects to advance evidence-based initiatives designed to test, validate, and scale innovative strategies, models, and systems.

Coalition partners engage in activities that support knowledge sharing, relationship building, and research-backed innovation. Engagement opportunities include:

• “Book clubs” that explore ways to apply and learn from new research and data
• Twice-annual institutes that convene Coalition partners for two days of shared learning, networking, and discussion
• Ideation events that elicit practitioner and policymaker voices and perspectives to ensure our collective best thinking is harnessed for our most challenging problems
• Learning webinars that unpack and explore different angles of the five Pathways to Prosperity levers

If you’re interested in working with us to transform our education systems as a member of the PtoP Coalition, please complete this form so that we can send you our newsletter that features opportunities to engage in Pathways to Prosperity and the national pathways movement.

Our team brings dedication and a wide breadth of relevant expertise, experience, and skills to our work.